


I need to tell you something

by starlightmesss



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Charlie is honestly just amazing, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Fluff, I don't know how to tag this first chapter, Love Confessions, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Shipper Charlie, Shipper Sam, Tags for Ch 2, Tags for Ch 3, as I upload the chapters, charlie and cas being besties, dean and charlie being besties, dean isn't good at expressing feelings but he handles it anyway, how they haven't realized their feelings for each other is beyond me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:48:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29155326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightmesss/pseuds/starlightmesss
Summary: Charlie notices something between Dean and Castiel and decides to ask Dean about it. Chaos follows.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 20
Kudos: 91





	1. feelings talk

**Author's Note:**

> I absolutely have no idea how to tag the first chapter. Also this is set after Charlie and Cas meet, of course, but not in/after a specific episode. Also ignoring the fact that she dies very soon after :)

Charlie and Dean are lying on Dean’s bed, backs against the headboard, watching TV and eating pizza, when Charlie decides to drop the question.

“So, what’s between you and Cas?” She asks, without looking away from the screen.

Dean, who is bringing a slice of pizza to his mouth, stops in his tracks for a second, frowning.

“What do you mean?” He says, sounding way more nervous than he intends. 

“You know, the flirting, the gazes…”

This time, Dean almost chokes on his food. “ _ What? _ ”

“What? Come on you can tell me-” Charlie looks at him, frowning. Then her whole face changes. “ _ Oh, _ ” she says, and quickly shifts her attention back to the screen.

“What??” Dean asks again, confused by her reaction.

“Uhh, nothing! Oh, look at that, we lost so much of this episode, we should go back and-”

“No, no, no, wait,” he stops her. “What do you mean, flirting?”

They weren’t flirting, they were acting as usual, Dean thinks.

Charlie grabs the remote and pauses the episode they’re watching, then she turns to look at him, sitting up.

“Well…” she gives him a look.

Dean looks away. How can she know, when Dean himself doesn’t know what’s going on? He tries to avoid the subject, as he’s always done so far.

“I- I don’t know what you mean…”

“Dean, you can talk to me. You know that, right?” he hears her say, and he looks back at her. No he can’t talk about it, he doesn’t even know  _ how _ .

“There’s nothing to talk about.” He pushes the conversation away. 

“Okay, fine, but if that changes, I’m here.” She points the remote back at the TV, starting the episode again. Dean doesn’t say or do anything. He thinks about her words, though, and his attention gets caught by something specific. So a couple of seconds later, he speaks again.

“Cas?? Flirting??” 

It’s Castiel they’re talking about, he doesn’t  _ flirt _ .

Charlie pauses the episode once again. Dean catches her rolling her eyes.

“Are you kidding me?” she says, and Dean is even more confused. “Of course! And you were too, clearly.”

Dean doesn’t know what to answer. He opens his mouth to speak, to say that he  _ wasn’t _ , but changes his mind. That’s not it, but what could he even say? That he feels something but that he’s struggled all this time with it? That he has no idea what actually is ‘between Cas and him’, as Charlie put it?

“Look, Dean, we don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, okay? But you seem like you definitely need to.”

She’s right, and Dean knows. So he gives in.

“Okay, listen. I… I don’t know what I’m feeling. Cas is… well, Cas is Cas, you know? And he’s my best friend, I just... And he’s an angel, anyway. I don’t even know if he can actually feel this kind of stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?”

_ Don’t make me say it _ , the look he shoots her says. But she doesn’t back off. She waits for him to elaborate. 

He sighs. “Romantic stuff, okay? I like him. I have feelings for him and… well I even tried, I  _ wanted  _ to tell him, when he was human, but I guess I chickened out.” He says the last sentence chuckling, trying to ease the tension. 

“Have you tried asking him? If he feels that kind of feelings?”   
  
Dean scoffs. “Yeah, sure. And how would I do that? Go up to him and ask  _ ‘Hey Cas, just out of curiosity, do you happen to feel romantic love’ _ ?”

Charlie seems to think about it for a second, then lights up. “Oh! I could ask him!”

“What??”  _ She can’t be serious. _ “Okay, what we’re not gonna do is behave like 13 year olds with a crush, alright?”

“Well aren’t you just like a 13 year old with a crush?” She teases him. 

Dean glares at her, but with no harshness. “It’s more than that.”

“Do go on, then.”

He trusts her, especially with this, he realizes. It’s so easy to talk to her they might as well be actually like teenagers talking about crushes.

“I don’t know how to explain it, you know? He’s Cas.  _ Cas _ . It’s different from anything I’ve felt so far, I just feel this… this happiness when I’m around him. I feel comfortable and, well, it doesn’t happen very often that we can relax and not worry about what’s going on, but when I’m around him I just, I don’t know, feel better?”

When he’s done trying to put his feelings into words, he looks at Charlie, who’s looking at him with her eyebrows raised and her mouth open, smiling.

“What?” He asks.

“You’re in love with him.”

Dean laughs at that, nervously. “Well, I don’t- I don’t know about that, I-”

He thinks about it. About what he just said and how he is like around Castiel. And he realizes. That’s it, that’s exactly it. What other way to explain it? He looks back at Charlie.

“Yeah,” he admits. “Yeah, I’m in love with Cas.”

Her smile widens. “Well, then you have to tell him.”

He puts his hands up between them. “ _ Woah _ . I don’t know about that.”

“Come on! You feel like that and you don’t want to tell him?”

“I’m sorry, did you miss the whole part when I said I have no idea if he can feel that kind of love?”

Charlie rolls her eyes. “Oh, come on. He feels other feelings, right? Joy, sadness, anger, all of that, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Then why wouldn’t he feel love as well?”

Dean sighs. “Charlie I don’t know… Even if you were right, who says he feels that way for  _ me _ ?”

Charlie gives him a ‘are you kidding me?’ look. “Have you  _ seen  _ the way you two look at each other? As I said, I can ask him something. I promise I’ll be subtle, come on!!” she pleads. 

“Oh, God- fine,  _ fine _ . Ask him.”

She smiles proudly at that, and looks back at the TV, starting the episode again.

“But don’t tell him anything about me,” Dean adds.

Charlie chuckles and Dean thinks  _ ‘I’m fucked’ _ before turning his attention to the screen in front of them again.


	2. middle school strategies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean decides to talk with Sam. Meanwhile, Charlie puts her plan into action.

Dean is sitting across from Sam at the table, they both have their computers in front of them, but Sam is actively looking for cases, meanwhile Dean’s laptop is just sitting there, unused, as his mind is completely somewhere else. 

In that moment, Charlie is probably already talking with Cas. He fights the urge to sigh at the thought, trying not to think too hard about how that could go. Instead, he focuses on gathering up the courage to tell Sam about it. It’s now or never, he decides, so he goes for it.

“What would you say if I told you I’m in love?” he kicks himself mentally for the choice of words.  _ Too direct? Too direct. It probably sounds weird, too. _

Sam looks up at him, eyebrows raised, looking a little taken aback by the sudden question. “I guess I’d ask you who you’re in love with.”

Dean takes a deep breath, and says the following sentence quickly before he can change his mind.

“I’m in love with Cas.”

For a moment he worries he may have said it too quickly and that Sam maybe hasn’t caught it. Then Sam smiles and huffs out a laugh.

“Well, thank you for telling me,” he says in a tone that’s probably supposed to sound supportive, but that to Dean sounds… slightly amused?

Dean stares at him, blinking. 

“That’s it?”

Sam returns his gaze to his computer. “What else am I supposed to say?”

“I don’t know, aren’t you shocked? Confused? Surprised?”

His brother looks at him again. “Honestly?”

“Yeah?!”

“No, not even a bit.”

Dean’s eyebrows shoot upwards and he leans back into his chair, astounded. First Charlie, now Sam... “What, is it really that obvious?”

“Dean, haven’t you noticed the amount of people teasing yours and Cas’ relationship?”

“I thought it was just to piss us off or something?”

Sam gives him a look. “Have you ever seen people doing the same with  _ me  _ and Cas?”

Dean looks away, thinking about it. No, it’s always about him and Cas, every time. He had tried not giving it too much weight so far, though.

A thought occurs to him. If he hasn’t been subtle…

“Wait, do you think he’s noticed too?” 

“Who, Cas?” Sam scoffs. “Dean, I think you two are the only two people on Earth not knowing it. And Heaven. And Hell. And I wasn’t in Purgatory with you two, but I’m pretty sure that after a year everyone there just knew it too.”

“Oh, shut up…” He looks away, crossing his arms. Has everyone really just known this entire time? But why are they all so sure Cas feels the same? 

“Jokes aside,” Sam speaks again, in a serious tone, “I’m glad you’re comfortable enough to talk to me about it. You can trust me when it comes to this, okay?”

Dean relaxes, and smiles. Hearing that is comforting, it really is. “Thank you, Sammy.”

“So,” Sam breaks the moment, closing his laptop and leaning with his arms on the table. “Are you gonna tell him?”

Dean rolls his eyes. “Why’s everyone so convinced I should tell him?”

“Because you should? And it’s painful to see you pining for each other all the time?”

Dean shoots him a glare.

“Also, ‘everyone’?” Sam asks.

“I talked with Charlie. She asked me about what’s between me and him.”

Sam chuckles. “How did that go?”

“Great. Except she wants to talk to him to find out if he can feel romantic love and stuff like that.”

At this, Sam fully laughs. “Middle school strategy, I like that.”

“Hey, it was her idea.”

“Sure,” he says, not sounding fully convinced. Before Dean can comment on it, he adds, “but are you really worried about that? You know he feels the same, right?”

Dean scoffs, looking away.

“No, Dean, I’m serious. You two clearly have feelings for each other, you’re just either too stubborn to admit it or too dumb to realize it. At this point I’m leaning towards the second option.”

“Hey!”

“Just talk to him.”

\--

Charlie finds Castiel sitting at the table in the bunker kitchen. When she enters the room he looks up at her, smiling.

“Heyy, Castiel, how are you?” She asks as she sits in front of him.

“I’m good, how are you?”

“I’m fine! Hey, can I ask you something? Just out of curiosity.”  _ Showtime.  _

“Of course.”

“How was it like being human? I mean, I know what it feels like, because, well…” she points at herself, “I  _ am  _ human, but it must have felt different for you, not being used to it and all.”

Castiel seems to think about it for a second, then says, “it was interesting. Complicated, too. But it wasn’t bad.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Well, I don’t miss having basic physiological needs.”

They both chuckle at that, before he adds, “I actually do miss a few little things, yes. Some foods, or some sensations-”

“Feelings?”

He tilts his head, confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I know you can feel things even as an angel, but were they any different? Anything new?”

“Uh,” he leans back, reflecting on the question for a moment. “I guess they were… easier, I’d say. As in, angels aren’t exactly built to follow them, but I’ve learnt it doesn’t mean we’re unable to. We just have to let ourselves feel them. Being human helped. I have experienced them better.”

Charlie leans in closer. She’s getting there, and there’s a specific thing he said that should do the job. “When you said you’ve learnt it…”

“I’ve begun to feel them myself, when I…” he trails off for a second, hesitates maybe, before continuing, “when I came on Earth just a few years ago, after I started asking questions, and especially after I rebelled. Happiness, sadness-”

“Love,” she suggests.  _ Shit, that was too forward. _

Her fears are confirmed by the suspicious look Castiel gives her. “...yes, that too. Is there any specific reason why you’re asking me this?”

“Nope!” She replies, probably too quickly and with her voice going too high. “Just curiosity, that’s all. So you’re saying it happened when you met Dean?”  _ So much for being subtle… might just go for it now. _

Castiel’s eyes widen just a bit, as he looks away for a moment, mouth open as he tries to find an answer. “Well, yes,” he says, a couple of seconds later, looking back at her. 

Charlie nods, smiling to herself internally.  _ Well that’s as good as it can get. _

“So,” she speaks again, breaking the tension, “what foods do you miss?”

\--

When Charlie walks into the room, Dean looks up immediately, trying (and failing) not to look too eager. She sits on the chair next to him, shooting a glance towards Sam, at the other side of the table, looking through his computer. Dean’s still hasn’t even been touched. 

“It’s okay, I told him,” he informs her, to which Sam looks up, smiles, and looks back at the screen, clearly not paying attention to the computer anymore.

“Okay, so! You have to talk to him,” Charlie exclaims, smiling.

“I- why? What did he say?”

“Well, I can’t tell you exactly what, but trust me.”

“It’s what I’ve been trying to tell him, too,” Sam comments, without looking up.

Before Dean can tell him to go back to work (or to go to hell. Or both.), Charlie starts pushing his shoulder. “Come on, go!”

“What, now?? Right after you talked with him about feelings? He’s gonna realize something’s up.”

“Well, then, I don’t see the problem since you’re gonna tell him.”

Dean looks at Sam, hoping for some help, but he has just completely discarded his laptop and is now looking at him, smiling. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

“You’ll just change your mind if you don’t go now!”

“Okay, okay,” he says, holding his hands up. “Yeah, I’m going,” he adds, trying to sound as sure as he can, standing up and closing his own computer for good measure. 

“He was in the kitchen when we were talking just a minute ago.”

Dean takes a deep breath.  _ Yes, I’m going to tell him. I can do it. _

And he heads for the kitchen.


	3. worth trying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean finally goes to talk to Cas. It's definitely not as easy as he thought.

Dean stands outside Castiel’s room for about a minute, collecting his thoughts.

Before that, he walked past the kitchen, where Charlie had said she had talked to him just a few minutes before, but he found the room empty, so he decided to check the angel’s room.

Which is closed. And Dean is staring at the door.

He takes a deep breath.  _ It’s not a big deal, I’ll walk in, have a talk with him, tell him how I feel, and deal with his answer, whatever it’s going to be.  _

He raises his hand and, after a second, he knocks.

“Cas? Can I?” he asks, opening the door just enough to hear Castiel’s voice saying his name happily, and having his heart skip a beat.  _ I’m being ridiculous. _

“Dean. Yes, of course.” 

When he walks inside, closing the door behind him, he finds Cas sitting on his bed, and looking up at him.

As he sits next to him, Dean gathers up the courage to ask, “hey, man, can we talk?”

“Sure. Is everything okay?” Cas asks, probably picking up the tension in Dean’s voice and mannerisms. 

“Yeah. Yeah, of course, it’s just… well, it’s something important and I don’t really know where to start,” he says, looking at his own hands, the wall, the furniture, anywhere but at Cas.

“Dean.” The angel leans in closer, following Dean’s eyes, which makes him look back at him. “You can talk to me about anything, you know.”

Dean smiles, still nervous, but feeling slightly better.  _ It’s Cas. _

“I know, I know.” He takes another deep breath. “Well, I need to tell you something.”

Castiel nods, waiting for Dean to continue, who rubs his hands on his own face, to pull himself together. He looks at the angel again, really looks at him, for a couple of seconds. 

_ No. _

_ Bad idea.  _

_ Terrible idea.  _

“No. No, it’s stupid,” he says, standing from the bed and facing away.

“Dean-?”

“No, really, forget about it, okay?” Dean says, turning around again, trying to give Cas, who is standing too, a smile that looks more confident than he feels.

Castiel walks closer to him. “Dean. You don’t  _ have  _ to tell me anything. But if you came here, maybe it’s worth trying.”

Dean huffs out a laugh, looking at the floor. “Look. I don’t even know where to start, alright? There's all these… thoughts and  _ feelings _ ...”

“About what?” Cas encourages him to keep talking.

There’s silence for a couple of seconds. Then Dean puts his hands on the back of his neck, looking up in frustration.  _ Why did I let them convince me? _

He closes his eyes for a moment. When he looks down at Cas again, he’s studying him, worriedly. 

_ Pull yourself together _ , he tells himself. So he decides to just follow his instinct, and does what feels natural in that moment. He steps closer, then pulls Cas into a hug. The angel hugs back immediately, even if a little taken aback. Dean lets himself be held for a few seconds, sorting his feelings. 

“You mean so much to me, you know that, right?” The question is met with silence, and Dean steps away from the hug, looking at Cas. “I’ve never told you, have I?”

“You’ve made it clear enough.”

“Have I?” Dean looks away again for a moment, feeling his eyes tear up a little, then back at him. “You’re family, Cas. You’re my best friend... and there’s-  _ more _ ,” he finishes the sentence quietly. 

Then it flows out Dean’s mouth, almost automatically. “I love you.”

Castiel stares at him, face changing completely, mouth opening, either out of shock or because he wants to say something, but Dean doesn’t wait to find out. He heads towards the door, not to leave the room but to put some space between them as he keeps talking. “And it's okay if you don’t feel the same, alright? I- I needed to tell you, I just… never know  _ how _ .”

There’s some more silence. Dean is just standing there, halfway turned towards the door. Then Cas finally speaks.

“I love you, too.”

Dean looks up so quickly he almost hurts his neck. Castiel’s face is stunned, open…  _ happy _ . He looks happy. 

“I don't mean as a friend,” is all he manages to add, forcing his voice out.

“Me neither.” 

Dean reaches him again, in the middle of the room.

“You  _ love _ me.”

“Yes, I love you, Dean.” 

Realization hits him all at once, and suddenly he’s smiling. “Really?”

Cas breaths out a laugh. “Yes, really. How haven’t you noticed?”

“How haven’t  _ you _ ?”

Dean places his hands on both sides of Castiel’s face. “I could really kiss you right now.”   
  
“Please do.”

He does. 

\--

“Do you think we’re going to see them any time soon?” Charlie asks.

Sam smiles, amused. “I don’t think so,” he tells her, from the other side of the table.

“Have they always been so obvious around each other?”

He gives her a pained look. “You have no idea.”

Charlie laughs. “Oh, please, tell me about it.”

When Dean and Castiel walk into the library, later that day, they find them still talking and laughing, before they seem to change the subject as soon as they spot them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well! There it is!  
> This is the first time I start publishing a fic before having it finished and this last chapter took longer than planned but it's done! I really hope you enjoyed it and thank you so much for waiting for the updates (even if they were only three chapters)!


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